On Saturday, April 2nd, my girlfriend and I went to check out the Max Aquarium Expo at the Orange County Fair Grounds. We had a relatively new relationship, and I saw this as an opportunity to introduce her to one of my passions, as well as a chance to score some cool zoanthids for my 12 gallon reef tank.
We walked up and down the aisles and browsed the numerous booths. I took every opportunity to teach her about different corals, fish, and equipment, always dropping the hint that I would love to upgrade tanks in the future. We were having a great time!
We came across the raffle booth and decided to buy $10 worth of tickets. After dropping our 12 tickets in a couple buckets, we decided to hang around and people watch as we waited for the drawings. We saw people buying what had to be $100s of dollars worth of tickets, and quickly lowered all expectations.
Raffle time. As the first number was being drawn, we looked at each other and laughed at the thought...we won! We were shocked as we went to claim our 29 gallon, Aqueon Delux Aquarium Kit. After a quick picture we carried our prize back to our spot we had claimed on the floor. We didn't even get a chance to sit down before, you've got to be kidding, we won again. This time we had won a supplement/test package. Everyone laughed as we once again went up to claim our prize. Another picture and our luck was over for the day.
After the show we carried our winnings across the parking lot and drove home. The tank sat at my girlfriend's apartment for a few days, before she got anxious and asked if we could set it up. Of course I jumped at the opportunity, and saw this a chance for her to really learn what goes into a successful tank, as well as for myself to take the next step in the hobby. We prepared a list of everything we would need, along with a budget. Wasting no time we went to our LFS and purchased sand, rock, and some cheap powerheads to get the cycle going as we slowly ordered more equipment.
Here is our tank on April 14th, Day 1.
While we waited for our new toys to come in the mail we decided to get crafty and build a custom shelf which would serve as our light support.
Over the next two months the tank slowly grew. We added:
- CPR Bak Pak 2R+ protein skimmer
- CPR HOB Refugium
- AI Hydra 26 HD light
- 3 Scarlet Hermit Crabs
- Snails (Margarita & Turbo)
- 2 Clownfish (DaVinci & Black Ice)
I don't have any pictures from this time saved on my phone...
A month later we had a small earthquake, and decided the stand from Petco has to go! A few trips to Home Depot and Lowes and we had all the materials we needed for yet another exciting weekend. Here is the finished product. Not bad for limited tools and no garage.
Throughout the months of June, July, and August we slowly added the following corals and a few more fish:
- Neon Green Octospawn
- Bubble Coral (previously kept in my 12 gallon)
- Duncan coral (3 heads)
- Orange Bam Bam Zoanthids
- Unknown Pink Zoathids
- Pink Acan
- Red Acan
- Torch Coral (lost do to EEFW...first time on R2R do to this)
- Warpaint Scoly
- Sun Coral (lost do to lack of feeding...this was my fault and I regret it)
- Purple Lobo Coral (fragged and sold half)
- Cauliflower Coral
- RBTA
- Yasha Goby/Pistol Shrimp
- Yellow Coris Wrasse
- Female Flasher Wrasse
- Blood Shrimp
We decided to let our tank sit for a few months and let everything settle in. Over this time we both joined the Southern California Marine Aquarium Society, and took every opportunity we could to learn more about the hobby. We also circled the date of Reef-a-palooza to further stock our tank with the corals we wanted. We were very satisfied with what RAP had to offer and it was after this that our tank finally started to look as we had imagined.
RAP scores:
- Pink/Blue Basto
- Jawbreaker mushroom
- Unknown Rhodactis Mushroom
- Superman zoanthids
- Hyperspace Zoanthids
- Rasta Zoanthids
- Utter Chaos Zoanthids
- Gold Torch
- Rainbow Acan
- Two Gorgonians
A few weeks later I couldn't control myself...I followed Kush Corals for a long time and always wanted to take my chances at their online auctions. Well I scored myself a few amazing pieces.
- Unicorn Milk Acan
- Ketchup and Mustard Acan
- Black Cherry Acan
- Blue Autumn Rhodactis
- Blue Ricordia
- Green Man Rhodactis
- Purple Tip Acro (first attempt at these)
So that brings us to today. Our crazy and wild ride has lead us to a very satisfying point. We now sit and wait for our tank to fill in. Throughout this process my girlfriend and I (now living together!) have learned so much about the hobby and each other. This reef has truly served us well, and we hope we can return the favor.
Current Fish:
- Two Clowns (DaVinci and Black Ice)
- Two Banggai Cardinals
- Purple Firefish
- Yasha Goby/Pistol Shrimp
We walked up and down the aisles and browsed the numerous booths. I took every opportunity to teach her about different corals, fish, and equipment, always dropping the hint that I would love to upgrade tanks in the future. We were having a great time!
We came across the raffle booth and decided to buy $10 worth of tickets. After dropping our 12 tickets in a couple buckets, we decided to hang around and people watch as we waited for the drawings. We saw people buying what had to be $100s of dollars worth of tickets, and quickly lowered all expectations.
Raffle time. As the first number was being drawn, we looked at each other and laughed at the thought...we won! We were shocked as we went to claim our 29 gallon, Aqueon Delux Aquarium Kit. After a quick picture we carried our prize back to our spot we had claimed on the floor. We didn't even get a chance to sit down before, you've got to be kidding, we won again. This time we had won a supplement/test package. Everyone laughed as we once again went up to claim our prize. Another picture and our luck was over for the day.
After the show we carried our winnings across the parking lot and drove home. The tank sat at my girlfriend's apartment for a few days, before she got anxious and asked if we could set it up. Of course I jumped at the opportunity, and saw this a chance for her to really learn what goes into a successful tank, as well as for myself to take the next step in the hobby. We prepared a list of everything we would need, along with a budget. Wasting no time we went to our LFS and purchased sand, rock, and some cheap powerheads to get the cycle going as we slowly ordered more equipment.
Here is our tank on April 14th, Day 1.
While we waited for our new toys to come in the mail we decided to get crafty and build a custom shelf which would serve as our light support.
Over the next two months the tank slowly grew. We added:
- CPR Bak Pak 2R+ protein skimmer
- CPR HOB Refugium
- AI Hydra 26 HD light
- 3 Scarlet Hermit Crabs
- Snails (Margarita & Turbo)
- 2 Clownfish (DaVinci & Black Ice)
I don't have any pictures from this time saved on my phone...
A month later we had a small earthquake, and decided the stand from Petco has to go! A few trips to Home Depot and Lowes and we had all the materials we needed for yet another exciting weekend. Here is the finished product. Not bad for limited tools and no garage.
Throughout the months of June, July, and August we slowly added the following corals and a few more fish:
- Neon Green Octospawn
- Bubble Coral (previously kept in my 12 gallon)
- Duncan coral (3 heads)
- Orange Bam Bam Zoanthids
- Unknown Pink Zoathids
- Pink Acan
- Red Acan
- Torch Coral (lost do to EEFW...first time on R2R do to this)
- Warpaint Scoly
- Sun Coral (lost do to lack of feeding...this was my fault and I regret it)
- Purple Lobo Coral (fragged and sold half)
- Cauliflower Coral
- RBTA
- Yasha Goby/Pistol Shrimp
- Yellow Coris Wrasse
- Female Flasher Wrasse
- Blood Shrimp
We decided to let our tank sit for a few months and let everything settle in. Over this time we both joined the Southern California Marine Aquarium Society, and took every opportunity we could to learn more about the hobby. We also circled the date of Reef-a-palooza to further stock our tank with the corals we wanted. We were very satisfied with what RAP had to offer and it was after this that our tank finally started to look as we had imagined.
RAP scores:
- Pink/Blue Basto
- Jawbreaker mushroom
- Unknown Rhodactis Mushroom
- Superman zoanthids
- Hyperspace Zoanthids
- Rasta Zoanthids
- Utter Chaos Zoanthids
- Gold Torch
- Rainbow Acan
- Two Gorgonians
A few weeks later I couldn't control myself...I followed Kush Corals for a long time and always wanted to take my chances at their online auctions. Well I scored myself a few amazing pieces.
- Unicorn Milk Acan
- Ketchup and Mustard Acan
- Black Cherry Acan
- Blue Autumn Rhodactis
- Blue Ricordia
- Green Man Rhodactis
- Purple Tip Acro (first attempt at these)
So that brings us to today. Our crazy and wild ride has lead us to a very satisfying point. We now sit and wait for our tank to fill in. Throughout this process my girlfriend and I (now living together!) have learned so much about the hobby and each other. This reef has truly served us well, and we hope we can return the favor.
Current Fish:
- Two Clowns (DaVinci and Black Ice)
- Two Banggai Cardinals
- Purple Firefish
- Yasha Goby/Pistol Shrimp
